Towel dispenser



J. C. PERRIN TOWEL DISPENSER Jan, 18, 1938.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 17, 1934 ATTORNEY.

Jan. 18, 1938. PERRIN 2,105,928

TOWEL DISPENSER Filed Dec. 1'7, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ze wm/m ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 18, 19 38 UNITED STATES TOWEL DISPENSER Jay -C. Peri-in, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Towlsaver, Inc., a corporation of California Application December 17, 1934, Serial No. 757,778

16 Claims.

This invention is of the same general character and form and is for the same purpose as the invention disclosed in Letters Patent No. 1,913,- 722, granted to me on June 13, 1933, but embodies several major and minor improvements which will appear'as the description of the present invention progresses.

Briefly, this invention contemplates the provision of a simple, efficient and durable mechal0 nism including a suitable case arranged to rotatably and detachably support a roll of towel paper in such a manner in the case that substitution of inferior or the other grades or'kinds of paper may not ordinarily be made without detection or tampering with the mechanism, thereby insuring uniformity of quality of the paper used in the dispenser.

Another. object is to provide accurate means for gripping, measuring and dispensing uniform sections of towel paper and including a couple of dispensing rollers at least one of which is rotated independently of the paper roll and to exactly the same extent in all dispensing operations, together with means associated therewith and under manual control for releasing and instituting movement of the dispensing rolls and automatically operable for stopping the operation thereof when a predetermined length of paper has been dispensed for use.

Other objects include: the provision of means to prevent the backward rotation of the paper roll when the mechanism is at rest; means for accurately centering the paper in the case and the prevention of longitudinal movement of the paper roll, and still other features which I will describe hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown a preferred form of mechanism for the purpose described, subject however, to modification within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the assembled dispenser partly broken in section so as to show the operating elements of the mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the same on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section on line 4--4 of Fig. 3, showing a detent associated with one of the paper dispensing gears;

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation on line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

5 Fig. 6 is a sectional plan on line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation on line 1-1 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary section of the operating means on line 88 of Fig. 7.

My dispensing means includes a two piece case 5 comprising a case C and a cover C hinged together at the front of the case as by means of a pair of hinges I, I. Said hinges are attached to the lower edge portion of the front Wall 2 of member C and to the bottom 3 of member C. 10 It will be observed that member C has parallel ends 4 and 5 and a back 6, while member C has ends 1 and B and the front wall 2 is continued upwardly and backwardly over the edges of the ends 4 and 5 of member C so as to completely l5 enclose the mechanism within the case. Ends 1 and 8 of member C' overlie the ends 4 and 5 of member C, respectively. Member C may be suitably secured to member C as by means of a latch 9 adapted to engage a member 10 attached to the 20 back 60f member C.

Thus, the case C is open at the top and front so as to permit the ready attachmeiitor removal of a roll of towel paper R.

At longitudinally opposite positions on the case 25 C supporting members I i and I2 of difierent form are permanently secured to the ends 4 and 5, respectively. Member i2. has laterally formed flanges I4, M, which are suitably affixed to the end 5, and a wall i3 spacedirom end 5 of case 30 C. Said member also has a semi-circular bearing portion I5 at the bottom of a slot i6 which is open at its upper end for receiving a trunnion l1 carried by the paper roll R at one of its ends.

It will be noted that the bearing I5 is of but 35 the thickness of the metal plate of which the member I2 is formed and said bearing is in a plane but slightly spaced from the plane of its associated flange, thereby providing a recess i8 between the bearing and the inner side of the 46 end 5. Member H, however, is diiierently formed, of spring wire and is provided with a V shaped bearing portion IS, the apex of which is axially alined with the roll R, and has upper and lower end portions 20 and 2! which overlie 45 the outer side of end 4 of case C. The lower end 2! is fixedly held by means of a plate 22 attached to the end of case C. The portion 19 of member ii is threaded through slots 23, 23 above and below a rib 24 so as to prevent the complete 50 retraction of said member.

The paper rolls R are usually formed with a stifi hollow paper core 25, in one end of which I provide a metal trunnion I! which serves to rotatably support the paper roll R on the member l2. Said trunnion is of cup form with a cylindrical portion 26 adapted to be frictionally or otherwise held in the core 25 and has a flange 21 at its outer and open end, as shown in Fig. 1.

At the junction of the cylindrical body portion 26 with the flange 21 a slightly enlarged annular portion 21' may be provided for rotatably engaging the semi-circular bearing l5. When the trunnion is thus positioned in the supporting member i2 the flange 21 thereof will rest in the recess I8 at the rear of the bearing i5, thereby preventing the longitudinal movement of the roll R. Member ii is so formed and tensioned that the portion l9 will engage the adjacent end of core 25 and thus support the roll R detachably in the case. The roll R is inserted by moving it downwardly so that member I! will rest in bearing I5 and the member II will yield and finally seat the portion I9 thereof in the end of core 25.

In the front portion and at the bottom of the case member C I provide a couple of parallel dispensing rollers 28 and 29 by means of and be tween which the paper P from the roll R is adapted to be dispensed in uniform lengths at each operation of the machine. Said rollers are preferably made of wood but may be formed of other suitable material. Roller 28 is rotatably supported on the ends 4 and 5 of case C by means of trunnions 39 which are firmly held in and extend from the opposite ends thereof and through suitable perforations in theends of the case 0. Said roller 28 is of uniform diameter throughout its length and is adapted to receive and grip the paper P from the roll R, as shown in Fig. 5.

Roller 29 is yieldably mounted relative to roller 28 and has trunnions 3| which extend through slots 32 in the ends 4 and 5 of the case and are rwiiiently connected with the trunnions 38 of roller 28-by means of tension springs 33, 33. Roller 29 has a central section 34 which engages the paper P and reduced end sections 35, 35, and said central section 34 serves to centralize the paper P in the case and to prevent the edges thereof from creeping longitudinally on the rollers 28 and 29.

Roller 28 has a ferrule 36 at one end tightly pressed on to a slightly reduced end portion thereof, to which is suitably attached a pinion 31. Said pinion operatively engages a spur gear 38 which is fixed to an operating spindle 39 formed on or attached to an operating crank 40. Said spindle is journaled in the end 5 of the case C and carries externally of the end 5 a combined cam and locking member 4i which cooperates with a control lever 42 pivotaliy held at 43 on the end 5 of the case and adapted to be manually operated for releasing the spindle 39 for rotation, but is automatically effective for stopping the rotation thereof when a predetermined length of paper has been dispensed from the roll R.

Member 4| is generally circular in configuration but has a projecting lug 44 on the periphery thereof which is engageable with a lug 45 on member 42, as shown in Fig. 7, for stopping the rotation of the spindle 39 and associated parts at the conclusion of a dispensing operation. Member 42 has a handle 46 which, when the mechanism is at rest, normally occupies a position as shown in full lines in Fig. 7 and is operable manually by elevating the handle to the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 7, for moving the lug 45 out of the path of lug 44 on member 4|. Thereafter, as handle 49 is rotated in a clockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 7, the lug 44 thereon will engage a second lug 41 on lever 42,. after lug 44 has cleared lug 45, and cause a retraction of lever 42 to normal position with the edge of lug 45 engaging the concentric portion of the periphery of member 4! and in readiness to engage and stop the further rotation of the handle 48 and the dispensing rollers 28 and 29.

The sections of paper P dispensed from the machine are preferably of greater length than width, and the length of said sections is determined by the ratio of gears 31 and 38. As shown herein, gear 38 makes one complete revolution at each operation of the machine while gear 31 may make two or more revolutions, depending upon the diameter of roller 28 and the gear ratio between the operating spindle and said roller. In all cases, however, roller 28 is rotated to exactly the same extent at each operation of the machine and consequently measures and dispenses uniform lengths of paper P in successive operations. It will be noted that in this ma-- chine, the operating member being attached to the dispensing means, the gradually decreasing size of the roll R does not correspondingly vary the length of the paper section dispensed therefrom, as in other machines.

The end of the paper from the roll R is preferably loosened from the roll and moved back and under the roll over roller 28 and thence between the rollers 28 and 29, and downwardly through an elongated aperture 48 in the bottom of the case C. Preferably the material cut away from the bottom of the case C to form the aperture 48 is bent downwardly on an incline, as shown in Fig. 5, .to form a cutting blade 49 having a serrated cutting edge. (See Fig. 1.) It should be noted that portions of the bottom 3 are bent upwardly to define fingers 49 as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. These fingers engage in grooves 35 formed at the junctures of sections 34 and 35 of the roller 29, the sides and ends of said fingers being in substantial engagement with or lying close to the walls of said grooves. This arrangement prevents the paper from creeping under the rollers and insures a direct feed of paper from between the rollers 28 and 29 out through the aperture 48.

When the paper is thus threaded between th rollers 28 and 29 the roll R is prevented from backward rotation by means of a detent 50 which is pivotaliy held at El on the end 5 of case C and engages the teeth of gear 38 at its free end, as shown in Fig. 3. Detent 58 has a pair of friction plates 52, 52 attached thereto and overlying the sides of gear 38, for the dislodgment of the detent and for other purposes which appear hereinafter.

In operation, a roll R of paper carrying the trunnion l'l at one of its ends is inserted in the open case by moving the same downwardly until the annular portion 21' of the trunnion seats in the bearing l5 and the opposite end of the roll.

Immediately after the disengagement of lugs 44 7 and 45, the lug 44 on member 4| will engage lug member I I is such that said member may not 41 on member 42 and retract lug 44 into the path of lug 45, so that it will be impossible to rotate the crank 40 more than a single revolution at ment as shown in Fig. l and applies friction on the end of core 25, is to remove the possibility ,of the paper creeping as it is unwound from the roll.

The form and arrangement of the bearing be completely removed from the case and as the roll R is moved downwardly into operating posi I tion the central V shaped portion l9 willyield/ said roll.

5. A towel dispenser comprising: a case, means for rotatably supporting a roll of towel material therein, a rotatable operating crank, a dispenser roller gear connected with said crank, means for 75 each operation. Moreover, the automatic opand finally settle into position in the endof the 5 eration of lever 46 prevents more than a suitcore 25 when the trunnion'll is seated in its able length of paper P from being dispensed in bearing I5. In like manner as the core of the one operation, and no manual attention or Oproll R is removed, or the roll of paper, member H eration is necessary to effect this economy. will yield as the roll is moved upwardly. Thus,

10 The bearings H and I2 which support the with the differently formed bearing members ll 10 roll R are so formed and positioned that any and I2 and the associated trunnion l1, maketrunnion without the flanges 21, or other makeshift devices-for supp g a roll of paper are shift devices, could not be effective for operatively ineffective. supporting the roll R. It would therefore, be What I claim, is:

diflicult if not quite impossible to relatively mount A towel dispense! comprising 1 a a e dapted 15 other rolls of paper than those supplied use to enclose and rotatably support a roll of towel in this particular machine in a satisfactory manmaterial, a stat o y bearing attached to a wall ner. The annular portion 21' and the recess [8 of said case and having a bearing portion pa ed are of such depth t t ample clearance is profrom said wall, a yieldable bearing attached to an vided for the roll R to prevent binding of the pp Wall of sa d case and having a bearing 20 paper on t case ends or other parts of th portion engageable with an end of said roll of hi s id anmnar portion 21' being larger material, and means in said roll of material in diameter than the body 26 serve to limit the adapted to be Supported in Said s ion ry bear inward thrust of the trunnion into the tubular mg operatively pporting said roll of matere 25 of the roll R, rial, said means including an annular portion 25 As shown in Figs. 1 and 6, a strip I8 is atforming a trunnion d en in id ionary tached to the end 5 of the case C opposite and bearing n a fl e on said trunnion interadapted to engage the flange 21 of the trunnion miidiate Sald bearing d the adjacent wall of H for preventing longitudinal movement of the said ca$e,fO1 DreVentiDg t e d splacement of said 3 roll in the case, the tension of the member H roll of mammal from the stationary bearing. 30 serving to keep the roll R to the right, as seen A towel d penser comprising; a case, and in Fig-#1 and the fl g 21 f trunnion n being means for rotatably supporting a roll oftowel confined between the member l8 and the central material therein c uding, a plate secured t a portion of member wall of said case and provided with a bearing Preferably member [2 is of suflicient size as to Open at its P y, a yieldable bearing member 35 enclose the detent 50 and the upper portion of attached to an ppo e Wall of said case and gear 38, thereby preventing damage to the .deg a Po on axially alined with said bearing, tent when the case is opened to insert a roll of and means insertible in aid roll of material and paper or for other purposes. It will be underadapted to rotatably engage said stationary bear- 40 stood that a too rapid rotation of the operating mg for operatively Supporting the l of ate- 40 lever 40 will tend to unwind a surplus amount rial, Said yieldable bearing member o y ng a of paper from roll R, hence the detent 50, by tensioned having pp y ed porreason of the frictional engagement of plates 52 tiOnS b ew t an end of the roll of matewith the sides of gear 38, together with the fricrial, w e eby when the roll of material is moved 5 tion of member II on the core of the roll, serves into and from operative position, said portion will t prevent an o r nt of th roll, flex so as to seat in and disengage itself from the The friction plates 52, however, serve a more roll of material. important purpose in that they prevent the dis- 3- A tOWeI dispenser comprising: a case adaptlodgment of the t t from gear 3 a d ed to enclose and support a roll of towel mate- 50 renders the operation of said gear silent, In rial, and means for rotatably supporting said roll 50 operation,-as handle 40 is rotated forwardly as of material including an axially disposed flanged in a dispensing operation the detent 50 is lifted trunnion attachable to one of the ends of the out of engagement with the teeth of gear 38 by roll of material, a supporting member mix t means of the friction of plates 52 on the sides and spaced from the adjacent side of the case 55 of the gear and the detent remains in an elevated and forming a bearing therefor, the flange of said 55 and disengaged position so long as the handle is trunnion being held between said case and a porrotated, thereby preventing the clicking noise tion of said supporting member, and a yieldable I which is made by a pawl and ratchet. If, howmember carried by the opposite side of said case ever, the handle is rotated backwardly, the fricand insertlble in the end of said roll of material.

tion of plates 52 on gear 38 causes the detent to 4. A towel dispenser comprising? a case, bearco immediately engage the teeth of the gear and the ings permanently attached to opposite portions of mechanism is locked against reverse movement. said case, one of said bearings being stationary It is also highly important to prevent the and formed with a base attached to a wall of the lateral creeping of the paper on the rollers 28 case and having an opening offset from the plane and 29 which might occur when a surplus amount of its base so as to provide a recess outwardly of (:5 of paper has been unwound from the roll R or the bearing portion, a trunnion attachable to an under other conditions. The combined effect of end of a roll of towel material and having a parthe central enlarged portion 34 of roller 29 and tion rotatably engaging said bearing and a flange the tension of member II which serves to hold seated in said recess, said other bearing being the roll R at its right hand extreme of moveyieldable and insertible in the adjacent end of 70 limiting the movement of said crank so as to dispen se uniform lengths of material at each operation of the crank, and a detent associated with said crank gear and including a friction element attached to said detent and overlying a side of said gear, for preventing the dislodgment of said detent.

6. A towel dispenser comprising: a case, means for rotatably supporting a roll of towel material in said case, a rotatable operating crank, a pair of dispensing rollers between which the paper from said roll is fed outwardly from said case, a gear associated with said crank, a gear associated with one of said rollers and operatively connected with the gear on said crank, a detent operatively engaging the teeth of said crank gear for preventing the backward rotation of the crank and roll, and friction plates carried on said detent and engaging the sides of said crank gear, whereby when the crank is rotated forwardly said detent will become disengaged from said gear and upon the initial backward movement of said crank said detent will become engaged with said gear, by reason of the friction of said plates.

7. A towel dispenser comprising: a case having spaced side walls, means for rotatably supporting a roll of towel material therein including a bearing plate secured to one of said walls and spaced therefrom, a trunnion held in the adjacent end of said roll of material and journalled in said plate and provided with a flange confined between said plate and the wall to which it is secured for preventing the longitudinal movement of said roll, and yieldable means carried by the other side wall and engaging said roll.

8. A towel dispenser comprising: a case having spaced side walls, means for rotatably supporting a roll of towel material therein including a bearing plate secured to one of said walls and spaced therefrom, a trunnion held in the adjacent end of said roll of material and journalled in said plate and provided with a flange confined between said plate and the wall to which it is secured for preventing the longitudinal movement of said roll, yieldable means carried by the other side wall and engaging said roll, and manually operable means for rotating said roll for issuing paper therefrom for use.

9. A towel dispenser comprising: a case having spaced side walls, means for rotatably supporting a roll of towel material therein including a bearing plate secured to one of said walls and spaced therefrom, a trunnion held in the adjacent end of said roll of material and journalled in said plate and provided with a flange confined between said plate and the wall to which it is secured for preventing the longitudinal movement of said roll, yieldable means carried by the other side wall and engaging said roll, and manually operable means for rotating said roll for issuing paper therefrom for use, said manually operable means including a pair of dispensing rollers one of which is substantially shorter than the other and between which the paper is issued from the dispenser.

10. A towel dispenser comprising: a case having spaced side walls, means for rotatably supporting a roll of towel material therein including a bearing plate secured to one of said walls and spaced therefrom, a trunnion held in the adjacent end of said roll of material and journalled in said plate and provided with a flange confined between said plate and the wall to which it is secured for preventing the longitudinal movement of said roll, yieldable means carried by the other side wall and engaging said roll, and manually operable means for rotating said roll for issuing paper therefrom for use, said manually operable means including a pair of dispensing rollers substantially spaced from the periphery of said roll between which the paper is issued from the dispenser for use.

11. A towel dispenser comprising: a case having spaced side walls, means for rotatably supporting a roll of towel material therein including a bearing plate secured to one of said walls and spaced therefrom, a trunnion held in the adjacent end of said roll of material and journalled in said plate and provided with a flange confined between said plate and the wall to which it is secured for preventing the longitudinal movement of said roll, yieldable means carried by the other side wall and engaging said roll, manually operable means for rotating said roll for issuing paper therefrom for use, said manually operable means including a pair of dispensing rollers substantially spaced from the periphery of said roll between which the paper is issued from the dispenser for use, and means for controlling the operation of said manually operable means and said dispensing rollers for issuing strips of paper of uniform length.

12. A towel dispenser comprising; a case having spaced side walls, means for rotatably supporting a roll of towel material therein including a plate secured to and spaced from one of said walls and having a bearing slot therein open at the upper end of said plate, a member secured to and coaxial with said roll adapted to seat in said bearing and having a portion confined between said plate and its supporting wall for preventing longitudinal movement of said roll, and a yieldable support for the other end of said roll carried by said other wall, whereby said roll may be detachably held in operative position.

13. A towel dispenser comprising: a case having spaced side walls, means for rotatably supporting a roll of towel material therein including a plate secured to and spaced from one of said walls and having a bearing slot therein open at the upper end of said plate, a member secured to and coaxial with said roll adapted to seat in said bearing and having a portion confined between said plate and its supporting wall for preventing longitudinal movement of said roll, a yieldable support for the other end of said roll carried by saidother wall, whereby said roll may be detachably held inoperative position, and means for dispensing strips of paper from said roll.

14. A towel dispenser comprising: a case having spaced side walls, means for rotatably supporting a roll of towel material therein including a plate secured to and spaced from one of said walls and having a bearing slot therein open at the upper end of said plate, a member secured to and coaxial with said roll adapted to seat in said bearing and having a portion confined between said plate and "its supporting wall for preventing longitudinal movement of said roll, a yieldable support for the other end of said roll carried by said other wall, whereby said roll may be detachably held in operative position, means for dispensing strips of paper from said roll, said dispensing means including a manually operable crank, and a pair of dispensing rollers operable by said crank between which the paper is issued from said dispenser.

15. A roll of towel material for use in a towel dispenser, having provision at an end thereof for rotatably supporting said end, and a bearing member having a portion permanently fixed to manently fixed to the other end of said core and a projecting portion including a flange spaced outwardly from and being substantially parallel with said other end, said projecting portion defining a bearing between the flange and adjacent 5 the end of the roll.

JAY C. PERRIN. 

